jade123

Mine went away while I was drinking and I was too young for that to happen naturally.

AllieB

Well, darn. To the extent that there is a connection, it appears to run in the opposite direction.

Thanks for your responses. Seeing a doctor is not in my budget right now, barring emergencies, but I'll keep an eye on it.

Whenever I think about seeing a doctor without health insurance, I start fantasizing about moving to France or Sweden.

AllieB

It came back...with an extra special wacky hormonal vengeance. May have been quitting (or the long-term, heavy duty antibiotics) after all.

Mangoes

Alcohol itself can act as an estrogen, but more importantly, it can interfere with the feedback loop of hormones from your pituitary and hypothalamus. Depending on what your "normal" loop is when drinking and when not, it can take a little while to regulate again.

Your next few cycles may be wonky too- early, late, heavy, scant. Use an app like Iperiod or a diary so you can record what's going on should it warrant a doctor visit. More than three strange cycles in a row should be investigated.

AllieB

Thanks, Mango. I'm one of those broke Americans with limited access to health care so I can't really afford open ended trips to the doctor. Those always result in hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in inconclusive tests. Bills that I would be paying for out of pocket right now. If Obamacare ever goes into effect, I might be able to see a doctor. But I have a feeling our republican party will succeed in making sure that only the well off and the very poor have access to preventative care.

But, because alcohol does have hormonal effects, that would make sense.

I actually did more investigation into the antibiotics angle, and, though doctors swear up and down that heavy-duty antibiotic use does not alter menstruation, anecdotally lots of women report mysteriously missed periods on and just after heavy antibiotics. I've never been on a broad-spectrum antibiotic at as high a dosage or for as long as I just was, so the antibiotic is a viable possibility.

Mangoes

AllieB, I beg ignorance. As a Canadian, even though moving far away from my family doc means I do t have the unlimited access to health care I'm used to, I know if I need it, I have health care. I don't mean to be ignorant - I just forget sometimes that "just go to a doc" is not as simple as the complicated without-a-doc version in my mind seems

In any case, alcohol is often responsible for estrogen dominance- and coming off can certainly put your Body in disarray. Antibiotics too..Among other things.

We can PM Allie, if you want. I don't mean to offer medical advice, but I can make some sense of what you're experiencing. Hope it's all more Limear for the future.

aussieblue

I will take periods over these hot flush's that came with menopause any day!

sugarbear1

check your state for a primary adult care program for low income people/families.

AllieB

Mangoes: It's Nietzsche country out here, for sure. I just heard a piece about a gentleman who couldn't afford a hip replacement in the USA. His insurance company refused to cover any of the expense because his hip was classified as a preexisting condition. The best price he could find here for the surgery was 100K. For 13K, he flew to Belgium and back, had a top-of-the-line hip implanted, stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks, and received preliminary physical therapy. Apparently, the (American-made) hip he had implanted in Belgium would have cost 14K (just for the joint, not the surgery or care) here. Why? Because price control is for lazy socialists. Sigh. Those lazy, socialist Belgians. Nothing but a drain on the world economy.

I'm a bit boggled. Having been reasonably healthy all my life, I never really gave our health system much thought until a few years ago when it became in issue in the presidential elections. Now, especially when combined with concerted attempts to disenfranchise black, Hispanic, and poor voters, to gerrymander the heck out of districts, to use backdoor restrictions to eliminate abortions, to incarcerate one out of every 3 black men, to deal the final death blow to unions, and to protect a wealth concentration figure that rivals Russia's and is getting steadily worse, my disenchantment with my homeland is growing.

That was a little off topic. I'm surrounded by well-off, uber-conservatives where I live, and I'm getting testy about it. (Ayn Rand is considered a great thinker around here. I haven't figured out how the strict Christians I know who adore her reconcile the fundamental atheism in her philosophy with their faith, but, whatever, man is made of contradictions.)

I remember being a bit jealous, as a kid, of the women and men who had lead the fights in 2nd wave feminism. Third wave and post-feminisms are complicated, and the clear moral battles of second wave feminism seemed both energizing and soothing. Turns out, all I had to do was wait for access to contraception and abortions to become limited again (and for massive disenfranchisement attempts). But, it's less fun to watch one's country turn back the clock on gender and sex and social justice issues than my teen brain imagined it might be. I don't want a cause; I want health insurance, a nice bike path nearby, and a cup of tea.

I was always rubbish at French (my brain just refuses to deal with that many wacky vowels and softened consonants), but maybe I should borrow some Dutch CDs from the library.

soberlife123

I've always had irregular periods but I haven't had one in three months now (I'm just getting sober today, day 1) I really hope it comes back...I'm 31 and my fiancee and I want children desperately. I'm terrified I've done permanent damage to my body. I went to the gynaecologist and he ran some tests....supposed to be going for an ultrasound but I'm scared it will diagnosis something terrible so I want to wait until I've been sober for at least a month to clear up any liver problems that may show up...the anxiety is horrible.